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The following is a story of Voltron I made up based on the T.V. cartoon Voltron by World Events Productions. I did not have World Events Productions' permission to do the story and therefore it does not have World Events Productions' endorsement.
After taking Darah to see Dr. Gorma, Hunk had spoken of taking Darah to see the Queen to see if her ring would heal Darah's shoulder like it had done once for Keith. But along the way, he had led her right past everyone in Castle Control and led her straight out of the castle.
There, outside the castle, he led her to a grassy area and they sat down and talked and enjoyed each other's company. Eventually Hunk had Darah sitting in his lap with his arms hugged around her, being careful not hurt her arm. They felt so comfortable and warm together.
Then Hunk suddenly got up and said, "Hey, I was supposed to take you to see the queen. Why didn't you remind me?"
Darah stood up beside Hunk.
"I was hoping you had forgotten about that. I deserve far worse than what's happened to my arm."
"Would you stop that! Punishment isn't going to change any of the bad things you've done in the past, and it's not needed to stop you from doing any bad things in the future. You will be stopping yourself from doing anything bad. All that was good in you, you still are, but you're not dangerous. You've changed. If your arm can be healed, it should be healed. So we're gonna try it."
"OK, Hunk," said Darah meekly as she looked down.
"Your 'confident spirit' will come back to you. You'll see. Even if your arm doesn't heal."
"And why should it come back?" asked Darah looking straight in to Hunk's eyes, a touch of spite in her tone.
Hunk smiled and said, "Cuz it's one thing I love about you."
Darah felt her own feelings of love for Hunk sweep through her and she suddenly felt shy and embarrassed, and she blushed.
Together they walked back into the castle. They went to Castle Control first.
"Nobody's here," commented Darah.
"I bet I know where they are," said Hunk.
They then walked to the dining room where everyone was. Allura and Lance had just had their little kissing incident, and Allura was kissing Keith when Darah and Hunk showed up. Lance stopped kissing Karla and looked at Hunk, surprised that the big guy had shown up so late.
"It's about time!" Nanny huffed.
But, it was as though Hunk didn't even hear her. He took Darah by her good left upper arm and pulled her through the crowd of people to where the queen was still kissing the king.
"Keith, Highness," Hunk addressed them both as if they weren't doing anything at all. Keith and Allura broke their kiss and looked at Hunk with startled expression. Hunk hadn't paused, but went right on with what he had to tell them, "I need you to come with us, now. We need you to try something."
"Now?" questioned Allura.
"Right now," insisted Hunk.
"Come on Hunk," whined Pidge, "can't it wait? I'm starving!"
"This can't wait," Hunk answered without looking at Pidge, and then said to Keith and Allura, "Come on, let's go!"
"Ah, Hunk?" began Lance coolly, "There's food on the table."
Hunk was pushing on Keith's back while dragging Darah along at the same time behind him. Allura was following along at Keith's side holding onto his hand. Hunk just went on as if Lance hadn't said a thing.
Quickly Lance grabbed a chicken leg off a serving plate and waved it in front of Hunk's face, "Look Hunk. Food! Smell it! It's time to eat!"
Hunk took his hand off Keith's back for a moment to reach out, push Lance's arm aside, and walk right on out of the room with Darah, and Keith and Allura going out right along with him.
"He just passed up food!" exclaimed Pidge, much more shocked over it than he had been to see Lance kiss Allura on the cheek. "Something's wrong!"
"Well, that settles it," commented Lance.
Nanny was furious over all that was happening and broke in saying "Ohhh the insolence!"
Pidge ignored Nanny's outburst and questioned Lance, "Settles what?"
"Hunk's in love!"
"In love with food," said Pidge. "We all know that. So why is he acting like he doesn't have a care in the world for food?"
"Pidge," began Tammy, Pidge's finance who also knew how to fly green lion, "I think what Lance means is that Hunk is in love."
"What do you mean?" asked Pidge still confused.
Lance sighed and then explained, "Hunk is in love with Darah."
"Whah!" exclaimed Pidge. "She's a Drule!"
"Something wrong with Drules?" asked Tammy.
"Yeah there is," defended Pidge. "They're a cruel people who enslave other people and cause nothing but death and destruction. And Darah's no different. Hunk told me she kicked him in the chops twice! He couldn't be in love with her."
(Pidge had found out from Hunk about Darah kicking him in the face twice during the time earlier that day when the Vehicle Voltron force was visiting. A ctually, when Hunk told Pidge the information, he left out that Darah had also punched him straight on in the face once and had kicked his head another time, but his hands somewhat protected against it. He stopped short of telling his buddy anymore because he could tell from Pidge's reaction that Darah was already seeming so horrible. Then he felt bad about blurting out what little he did tell Pidge.)
"OK, then how do you explain how he could pass up food?" Lance asked Pidge.
Pidge was silent in thought for a while, and then he said, "Wow! He really is in love! I mean really in love!"
"Pidge," began Coran, "did you really mean all that you said about Drules?"
"No, not completely," explained Pidge. "I mean there's always hope for their children. I don't believe Lotor is completely bad, and Merla has helped us out before. But then again they aren't completely Drule. I've never met a Drule who could be trusted and stayed good. And that Darah better not do anything more to hurt Hunk or I'll kick her in the chops!"
"Geez, Pidge," chastised Lance. "You don't even know her."
"I mean it! If she hurts Hunk . . . If she messes around with his feelings . . . She'll have me to answer to!"
Lance went on, "You know there have been Drules who have broken away from the Empire and cooperated with the Alliance."
"Yeah, I know. Chip told me. But I've never met one."
"Well, I've got a good feeling about Darah. And I'm happy for them both. I think she's got feelings for him too. I've never seen a Drule have humble respect for anyone. Yet I definitely saw her have a look of humble respect for Hunk."
"Don't you believe it, Lance!" broke in Karla who had so recently experienced being kidnapped by Lotor and saw what Darah was like before she had a change of heart. "I've seen what she's like! She's evil!"
Lance faced Karla and held her hands as he explained, "Karla, I know I haven't seen what you've seen. But I did recognize the raging fire she had inside her before we brought her here, and I don't see that anymore. I trust her."
"Then you're a . . ." Karla stopped herself short and her expression changed. "Lance, I can't call you names. I'm so happy we're together! But I'm telling you, she's not to be trusted."
"Just give her a chance. Hunk is."
"You can trust her if you want to, but I prefer not to."
Meanwhile, Hunk and Darah were with the king and queen in a room nearby the dining room.
"Highness, Keith," Hunk addressed them both, "Dr. Gorma has diagnosed Darah's shoulder injury to be permanent. You know Keith -- like he once said about you. And well . . . It seemed to be your rings that healed Keith's shoulder. And I was wondering, Highness, if Darah could try using your ring to heal her shoulder."
"Darah, you wanted to try this?" asked Allura kindly.
"No, Highness," answered Darah, looking down as she addressed the queen. Her demeanor shocked both the king and queen, and their mouths gaped open a little as they experienced her humbleness. "I deserve every bit of what's happened to my arm." The whole time she spoke and afterwards, she never looked into Allura's eyes.
"I talked her into trying it," admitted Hunk.
Allura got her composure back and reached out and lifted Darah's chin so they were facing eye to eye and she said, "Darah, no one deserves to be healed more than you."
Darah turned her chin to the side, pulling it away from the queen's finger tips, and then she looked back and right into Allura's eyes and said, "A part of me despises your generosity." Those words shocked everyone in the room, including Hunk. Darah continued, "If you healed me, it only puts me in a greater position to commit actions that would lead to the destruction of you all. Your kindness makes you weak." Then Darah broke her eye contact with the queen, looking down again, and said, "But power is no longer what I want. I only want to be happy. I see that happiness can be found in love and kindness, and that is powerful and honorable." Darah then looked straight at Allura again and said, "But your kindness makes you weak. There is no strength in weakness. Where is the value in that? Without strength it will all be taken from you."
Allura still had a stunned look on her face by the time Darah had looked at her again. But then, it disappeared as the queen's expression turned thoughtful. Then she responded, "I'll tell you something I don't completely understand myself. It was something my father once told me regarding the white lion, though I don't know what the white lion is either. He told me that sometimes in weakness lies the greatest strength. Does that make sense?"
Darah looked away from Allura and looked at Hunk, but he wasn't looking back at her. She remembered the strength he had displayed when she had seen him at his weakest. It was during the moment on yellow lion when she had escaped her restraints and had the opportunity to dispose of him permanently. But the strength he displayed in his weakest moment, she had recognized that strength as being far greater than any strength he had ever had over her while being his captive.
Darah turned back to the queen and looking directly at her said, "Yes. Yes I do understand. Thank you."
Allura smiled kindly and then said, "Now let's see what we can do about your arm."
Darah's head dropped after the queen's words and just said, "Do as you wish."
Allura looked concerned when she asked, "You would like it if your shoulder was healed, wouldn't you?"
"Yes, of course I would. But as I've told you, I don't deserve it."
Hunk stepped closer to Darah and put his arm across her shoulders, hugging her in a comforting manner. Then facing Allura directly he asked, "Do you think her thinking she doesn't deserve it will affect the effectiveness of the ring?"
"No," answered Allura. "That wouldn't cause it not to work. Father told us that sometimes love makes miracles happen. I don't know what makes the rings work, but if Darah's arm is meant to be healed, it'll happen. If it doesn't happen, I can tell that it won't be because of her. It will simply be because it wasn't meant to be."
"Allura's right," spoke Keith. "Darah, if this doesn't work, it doesn't mean you're a bad person."
"How would you know?" Darah humbly asked Keith.
"Perhaps we know because we wear the rings," replied Allura. "I just have gotten a feeling over time about how they work, and I'm confident that I'm right. What about you Keith?"
"Same thing, Allura. I've gotten the feeling that the magic of the rings is very powerful, but unpredictable. It doesn't seem that anything can be done to make the magic happen. It just happens. And we've only seen it happen once that we've recognized."
"Now lets see if the magic will work for you," said Allura.
Allura touched Darah on the shoulder.
"Nothing happened," commented Allura. "Darah, do you feel anything?"
"Nothing unusual. My shoulder still hurts."
Allura tried her right hand, and then both hands. Then Keith touched Darah's shoulder trying each hand and then both. Then they did every possible combination of both touching her shoulder together, but nothing happened.
Allura took off her wedding ring and put it on Darah's ring finger, but nothing happened.
"Keith, maybe if she wears your ring at the same time," suggested Allura.
Keith put his ring on over the queen's ring Darah was already wearing. Still nothing happened.
"Maybe it would work if we used it the same way it worked for us," encouraged Allura.
"How do you mean?" asked Keith.
Give your ring to Hunk to wear and maybe if he touches Darah."
"You're right. If anything works, it would be that."
Darah gave Hunk the king's ring and somehow he got it to fit on his pinky finger. Then he hugged her close to him and put his left hand with the ring on her right shoulder. Still nothing happened.
Darah sadly backed away from Hunk, dropped to her knees and began to sob into her hands. Hunk then dropped down in front of her and tried to comfort her. The queen also knelt down beside her to offer comfort. Only Keith gave Darah space by staying where he was.
Then Hunk said, "Darah, it's got nothing to do with you. We don't know how the rings work. They may only work to help the king or queen. I only wanted you to try this. I couldn't bear to see you in pain knowing this may have worked. Please forgive me. I didn't mean to make you feel bad. Please don't feel bad."
Darah quit sobbing and looked into Hunk's eyes and said, "You don't understand. It did work."
Upon hearing the shocking news, Allura stood up and listened for Darah to explain more.
"What do you mean?" asked Hunk. "You're healed?"
"No. But the pain . . . it's gone!" Darah hugged Hunk and while she was hugging him she continued, "I'm sorry, Hunk. It could have healed me. I know it could have. But I didn't want it...I don't trust myself, and I don't deserve it."
"Oh, Darah," said Hunk sadly with tears forming in his eyes as he hugged her to him, "that's not true. You deserve it more than you know."
"But I don't deserve anything good. I deserved all the pain that I had. But Hunk you took that away. It was because of you that the rings worked. You wanted my pain gone. Not me."
Hunk pulled back and held Darah at arms length and then said, "But how? How could they have worked? I didn't see anything happen."
"I didn't see anything happen," said Allura. "Keith?"
"I didn't see anything either," said Keith.
"Hunk, the pain is gone," replied Darah. "I can hug you and it doesn't hurt."
"How do you know you're not healed then?"
"The weakness is still there. I can tell I could easily re-injure it. But for now the pain is gone."
"How is that possible?" questioned Allura.
"What about your wound?" asked Hunk. "Is it still there?"
Darah moved the sleeve on her injured shoulder that would show Hunk the awful wound.
"It's gone!" exclaimed Hunk.
Darah glanced at the spot, shocked to see the truth herself.
"But I can still feel it," said Darah. "It feels like it's still there."
"How can that be?" questioned Allura incredulously. "Nothing happened."
"But something must have happened," stated Keith.
"Are you sure you're not completely healed?" Hunk asked Darah.
"I'm sure. I can feel the weakness that's still there. The wound even feels like it should still be there. If I do something to strain it, I can tell the pain would be back."
Darah was still on her knees as she handed Allura back her wedding ring, "Here, Highness. Thank you."
Hunk then took the king's ring off his finger, and not taking his eyes off Darah, he stood up and passed the ring off to Keith saying, "Here you go, Keith." Then he kneeled down beside Darah instead of in front of her.
Allura had put her ring back on before Keith did. Just after her, Keith put his ring back on, and at that moment, both the rings flashed bright and then returned to normal in appearance. Allura then had tears trickling out of her eyes. Keith had a stunned expression on his face as both he and Allura were looking at Darah in amazement.
"Oh Darah, you could have been healed," said Allura tearfully. She and Keith had been right that Darah's thinking that she didn't deserve to be healed didn't stop the rings from healing her, but it did affect the effectiveness of the healing. "It was because of Hunk that your arm has no more pain. But you're right, you're shoulder isn't healed. There's potential for excruciating pain if you re-injure it. But what you didn't know is that any injury to your arm will heal again to the point of taking away the pain."
"How do you know all that?" asked Hunk.
"The rings," answered Keith." The rings let us know what had happened. I've never experienced anything like it before."
"Darah, Darah, Darah," said Hunk tenderly, "I love you like I've never loved anyone before. Even more than wanting you to love me in return, I want you to love yourself. If only you saw yourself as I see you."
"Oh, Hunk," expressed Darah as she turned and hugged herself forward, resting her head on his chest. "Hunk love you so much, it overwhelms me. Because of you, because of your love for me, I find that I can love and accept myself. Who I was, is part of who I am. Though I denounce the evil of my past, I wouldn't exist as the person before you without my past. Because I know you're not ignorant of that, and yet you love me anyway, I have found reason to love myself."
"But you don't completely trust yourself."
"Only in so much as I don't trust you to recognize if there is ever a time that you shouldn't trust me."
"Fair enough."
And then they kissed. This surprised both Keith and Allura. The exchange they had witnessed between Hunk and Darah was so profound for two people who had known each other such a short time. They had fought each other in combat just a day ago! And yet they were apparently in love with each other!
After Hunk and Darah parted from their kiss, everyone went back to the dining room.
Commentary: This story starts off as being a continuation of the story For Hunk to Decide. The part where Hunk walks Darah right passed Castle Control is the same event that happens in the story Surprise Confession. Except in this story it actually explains where Hunk and Darah go and what they do after they walked passed Castle Control. The whole Lance kissing Allura thing briefly referred to in this story, takes place in the story To Tell the Truth. The conversation Pidge has with Hunk sometime earlier when Hunk tells Pidge that Darah had kicked him in the jaw twice is something that isn't specifically mentioned in the story Reprimands, but that's when it happens -- during when they're visiting with their friends of the Vehicle Voltron force before they all end up doing battle again. There's nothing of real significance about writing exactly when the conversation between Pidge and Hunk happens and what's exactly said. The part where Hunk gets kicked in the head that he tells Pidge about happens in the stories Saving the Enemy and Under Enemy Control. The part where Darah punches Hunk straight on in the face happens in Saving the Enemy; and the third time she kicks his head, but his hands somewhat protect against it, happens in the story Under Enemy Control. So what sounds like an exaggeration from Pidge about Darah is actually worse than it sounds. It doesn't seem quite right in character to have Pidge express prejudice against Drules. I can't think of a time that he expresses any kind of prejudice in the animated series except perhaps against a boy, Tommy, that he stereotypes as a looter. Pidge in the cartoons even expresses concern about the children of Doom at least once. But I think if anything could stir up a chord of prejudice in Pidge, it'd be his best friend Hunk getting hurt. Pidge has certainly experienced enough pain in his life at the hands of Drules for Hunk's incident to be the last straw that would cause Pidge to voice any buried feelings of prejudice. It's realistic enough for me, so I went with it. Karla's distrust for Darah stems back to what happens between them in the story Accidental Destruction, during which Darah is a threat to Karla's life. The injury that happens to Keith's shoulder that Dr. Gorma diagnoses as permanent is mentioned in the story Wedding Terror, and Keith's shoulder is healed in the story Wedding Magic. The part where Allura mentions about what her father had told her about weakness happens in the story Secrets of the Rings Revealed. The moment when Darah sees Hunk at his weakest happens in the story Under Enemy Control. I don't like having the magic of Keith and Allura's rings continuing to crop up much in other stories beyond Wedding Magic, but it does. Yet I wouldn't change having them. Originally I was going to have the rings have no effect on Darah's shoulder, and the reason simply being that the magic was unpredictable and just didn't work. But after beginning to write the story, that seemed like it would hit Darah too hard as a cruel blow that somehow she didn't deserve to be healed. Also in the story Secrets of the Rings Revealed, Alfor says "...sometimes when things are most hopeless, love makes miracles happen," and Hunk has such great love for Darah that it didn't seem appropriate for nothing to happen. I knew I didn't want Darah completely healed because I think then her character would be too strong, possibly overshadowing the five main characters of the Voltron force. Fortunately, it came natural for the situation of how Darah felt about herself that she'd only be partially healed, and I went with that idea. It seemed strange having Keith and Allura having a connection with their rings that they could tell what the rings had done or could do, but it seemed natural to tell the story that way, so I went with it. Explanation as to why Darah doesn't trust herself is explained in greater detail in the story For Hunk to Decide.
[Author -- Sheila Bliss, based on the previous creation of Voltron by World Events Productions]
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